The plan that success forgot
by Katrina Ravensden
Summary: The Doctor, Rose and Sophie get an urgent call from Torchwood where they meet their old friend Captain Jack Harkness who has been struggling with a mystery signal. Although Jack is surprised to find out the Doctor has a sister, he too has a surprise of his own. DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Doctor Who characters. All rights go to the BBC.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Sophie, can you check the incoming message please, the monitor won't shut up so it's obviously urgent"

The Doctor begs me to see the message as he searches for something in one of the cupboards. I swing the monitor round and tap it a few times before the message comes up.

"Um, Doctor, it's from Torchwood. A Captain Jack Harkness wants to see you and he says it's urgent"

"What?"

The Doctor abandons the cupboard and rushes over before taking his glasses out of his pocket, putting them on and frowning at the screen.

"What does Jack want now? We haven't seen him since world war two! The Doctor exclaims, looking at Rose who just shrugs at him. "Oh well, we'll have to go to the year 5 billion another time". I gape at him and he frowns at me.

"What?"

I dash to my back pack and pull out a load of papers. A few weeks ago I had persuaded the Doctor to let me get my drawings in case I should ever need them. It was also a chance to see my mother again. Boy wasn't that a day and a half! I search frantically through the papers before I come across my story about world war two. I show it to him and point to a figure in a dark trench coat with a backpack.

"That Jack?" I ask him. The Doctor looks at me, dumbfounded, before looking at the story.

"Yes Sophie, that Jack" he mutters, staring at the picture rather venomously. I pick it up and put it back in my bag, hoping to lighten his mood but he acts hostile and sullen to me for the rest of the trip to Torchwood. Once we've landed, we set off to the front desk where a blonde woman sits typing at her computer. The Doctor approaches her and pulls out the psychic paper from his trouser pocket. The woman looks up, startled.

"Hello, I got a message from Captain Jack Harkness. He said he needed to speak to me urgently"

The woman taps something into her computer and then directs us to an elevator and tells us to press for the 15th floor. The Doctor seems to be on a mission and soon me and Rose are jogging to keep up with him. We reach the relevant corridor and spot Jack sitting at a desk and talking to someone through a radio. The Doctor strides over to him with a smile.

"Hello Jack, good to see you again" The Doctor exclaims, shaking Jack's hand and patting him on the back.

"Doctor! It's good to see you too! And Rose, of course" Jack replies, hugging Rose and then looking at me with interest.

"And who is this, may I ask?"

"I'm Sophie" I say, smiling because he looks exactly like he does in my drawings.

"Yeah, she's, um, my little sister" The Doctor says, scratching the back of his neck. Jack's eyes widen and he looks from the Doctor to me and back to the Doctor in a nanosecond before smiling again and swinging me round in a hug like the Doctor sometimes does.

"Well, Sophie, I can say it's very nice to meet you. Who'd have known you had a sister?" he said. The Doctor smiled.

"I know. Anyways, what's so urgent Jack?"

"Right, well for the past 5 weeks I have been getting strange signals but whenever I or someone else on the team tries to trace it, we come up with nothing. It's there one minute and then gone the next. No one can find it, not even the Head of the department. And these signals turn out to be words but they are just single words. So far we've had 'Queen', 'takeover', 'country', 'mind' and 'control'"

The Doctor frowns and looks at the papers that Jack is showing him. Me and Rose are looking around when we notice a young girl rushing up to us holding what appears to be a very high tech gun.

"Jack! Jack, I fixed it!"

The girl runs up to Jack and hands him the gun. I stare at her, dumbfounded, knowing somehow that I've seen her before. She is wearing blue coveralls, the top half undone and tied around her waist. She's wearing a t-shirt underneath and a cap and there is grease all over her face and hands. Her short red hair is just visible, poking out the sides of her cap. Suddenly, I know who she is.

"Jade? Is it really you?"

The girl turns around and when she sees me, she is gobsmacked.

"Sophie?"

"Jade?!"

"Sophie! It is you! Oh my days!"

Jade rushes up to me and gives me a massive hug.

"But how, I mean, when did you-" I start but I am interrupted by the Doctor and Jack.

"Um, what's going on here?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Right. Jade is my best friend and has been for all my life. We are also neighbours." I say, trying not to laugh at the Doctor's and Jacks dumbfounded looks. "But what I want to know is, why are you at Torchwood? You're fifteen!" I exclaim.

She smiles sheepishly at me.

"Well, um, last week Jack turned up at my door step and announced that he was my biological father. After my mum and dad had got over the hysteria, Jack showed them all sorts of records and data and it was proved by a DNA test. I'm adopted, Sophie!" Jade says. I stare at her with wide eyes, my mouth slightly open with shock.

"So, I went to live with Jack and he said I could work here fixing the broken machinery and stuff. Growing up around my dad helped with mechanics and your drawings helped with the alien knowledge" she says with a smile.

"Jade! They were just stories! I know they came true but still! They were also a secret, remember? When we were about six we made a pact to keep them secret" I cry, narrowing my eyes at her.

"So, um, what are you doing here?" Jade mumbles, trying to distract me. I'm still peeved but I answer her question anyway, having not seen her for 2 weeks.

"Well, you know when my first story came true? Well, you know how the Doctor's hand gets cut off and falls to Earth? Yeah, I was hiding behind a bin around the corner from home because I was scared that my stories were true and his hand fell in the bin and his excess energy from his regeneration cycle was released and I kind of breathed it in and it changed my DNA. I'm part Time lord and therefore the Doctor's sister!" I exclaim, slightly out of breath from the explanation. Jade looks at me with shock.

"OMG! Really? That's so cool!"

The Doctor, Jack and Rose are looking at us like we've both gone mad. I smile at the Doctor.

"I haven't seen Jade since you asked me to go travelling with you. There's a _lot_ to catch up on" I say as a means of explanation. The Doctor shakes his head and steps forward to hug me.

"I guessed by the amount of rapid talking" he says. I laugh and hug him back. I turn back to Jane.

"So, what's been happening at home?" I ask. I already know that everyone knew I was missing and when I came home, all hell broke loose with my mum. Then when I left again, my mum wasn't very happy but she somehow came to understand. The Doctor also fixed my phone so it could work anywhere in time and space.

"Well, everyone still thinks you're missing" she says quietly. Suddenly, I feel very sick.

"But how? I went home, I saw my mum!"

"Yeah but she doesn't know how to explain you've gone travelling so she didn't say anything. In the first week, before I came to work here, there were search parties for you every night. The police are at a loss. There's no evidence of you, you have literally vanished." Jade finishes but she stares at the floor like she's holding something back.

"What? What is it, what are you not telling me?" I say, sadness creating a tight ball in my throat that threatens to choke me. The Doctor and Jack are looking at Jack's computer, no doubt trying to track this signal, and Rose is watching us but she's not in hearing distance.

"Um, some of the police have said that... that maybe they should... call off the search. They think... you may be um..."

"Dead" I whisper, finishing Jade's sentence for her. She nods sadly at me. I take a step back as searing pain lances through my chest.

"But, your mum has said they should keep going" Jade says, trying to reverse the pain of what she has just revealed. But it's too late. Before I know it I'm running back down the corridor to the elevator, the Doctor yelling after me, his voice a mixture of surprise and concern. I hit the button for the ground floor and the doors slide together just as the Doctor turns the corner along with Rose.

"Sophie!" he yells but he's cut off by the doors and I am whisked downwards. The doors slide smoothly open and I rush down the corridor and through the large fire doors at the end. I fumble in my pocket for the spare Tardis key that the Doctor gave me three days ago for my birthday. It had seemed so weird celebrating it without my mum there but it was pretty cool celebrating it in space. I unlock the Tardis and shut the door behind me before rushing to one of the support beams on the left side and climbing up it to my 'shelf' which was basically a stretch of metal supporting the beams. I tuck my legs up to my chest and half smile, knowing that the Doctor will come looking for me but from the door, I am invincible, and a small dam bursts and my tears flow unrestrained, sliding down my cheeks and forming small wet patches on the knees of my grey combat trousers.

"Sophie? Sophie are you in here?"

I hear the Doctor calling me. I lift my head up from my knees and turn slightly so I can see him. The rustle of my trousers catches his attention and he looks up to where I am seated. He sighs and takes off his trench coat before climbing up the beam and joining me on the shelf, his legs hanging off the edge.

"What's wrong? What happened?" he asks. I lean my head on his shoulder.

"My mum still hasn't told the authorities or anyone else that I'm ok and that she saw me. And because everyone still thinks I'm missing, the police are talking about calling off the search because they think I might be dead" I mutter venomously.

The Doctor sighs and puts his arm around me.

"Well, don't worry about it for now. Just focus on the fact that you are alive and you've done so many good things while travelling. I love travelling with you, you're the best sister ever, you know that right?" he says with a grin. I smile back at him and nod.

"You're the best brother ever" I say, hugging him. The door of the Tardis swings open again and Rose, Jack and Jade walk in.

"Anything else you wanna tell me?" The Doctor asks. I glance over at Jade who is waving for me to come look at something.

"I'll tell you later" I mutter. The Doctor nods and climbs down the beam, closely followed by me.

"Sophie, look" Jade calls.

"I can't, I've got to help pilot" I mutter. The Doctor glances at me.

"Actually Sophie, can you pilot by yourself? I've got to find something that may help us with this mystery signal" The Doctor says apologetically. I grin at him.

"Sure thing" I say, grinning with joy and excitement. Although the Doctor gave me flying lessons ages ago, he wouldn't let me pilot by myself even though I knew what to do. This was my first time flying solo. I move around the console, flicking the various switches and levers.

"Jack, where exactly are we going?" I call. He looks up at me, momentarily confused.

"Um, one moment, just let me reverse the signal to get a place" he types rapidly on his computer. "Odd, it says the signal's coming from South West London... Piccadilly Circus"

"Ok" I say. I tap in our destination and pull down the main lever. The Tardis springs into life and shudders a little as we hit the time vortex. The Doctor comes back from where ever he's been, a huge smile on his face.

"Brilliant Sophie" he says as he gives me a high five. He hands what appears to be a compass to Jack and then joins me at the main console.

"Thanks for letting me pilot. It's really cool you know. I sometimes feel as if the Tardis is talking to me, guiding me, you know?" I say, the Doctor's expression going from happy to bemused in a nanosecond.

"Um, no, not really. Ah well, every Timelord is different. But I do know what it's like to see and feel the whole of time and space" he says. My smile slightly fades.

"Yeah, that ability has been getting stronger the more I accept the fact that this is my life now" I murmur.

"You'll get used to it eventually" he says.

"Really?" I say, wondering if he's ever got used to it.

"Yeah. Come on, you've got to land her otherwise she'll fly about on the spot" he says. I smile again and after reversing all the relevant switches and levers, the Tardis gives a satisfying bump and the five of us waste no time in tracking down the mystery signal.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

We all tumble out of the Tardis and head off in a random direction, away from the throng of London people. Jack checks the compass that is now attached to a small gadget that looks similar to a very large mobile phone.

"That way" Jack announces. We allow follow him to an old, derelict warehouse. The Doctor has the rusty door open in seconds thanks to the sonic screwdriver and we are met with nothing but a big empty room with a single table in the middle. The Doctor and Jack immediately go over to examine the table whilst me, Rose and Jade wander about looking at nothing in particular. Rose wanders over to a corner and begins tugging on something.

"Sophie, could you help. There's a door and it's stuck" she grunts, pulling on the door that so bluntly refuses to open. I grab hold of the handle and we pull but it won't budge. Rose sighs and I run my hand through my hair in frustration. The Doctor holds up the screwdriver.

"Here, use this" he says as he chucks it to me. I catch it awkwardly and we soon have the door open. The door drags against the floor and when Rose and I look up, we nearly have a heart attack.

"Doctor!" Rose calls. I back away slightly, my mouth agape. The Doctor joins us and his eyes widen in disbelief and shock.

"No, that's not possible. How is that here? Come to think of it, why hasn't it tried to kill us all" the Doctor mumbles. I look back to the small container where the cyberman stands, its metal body shiny and new although there's no telling how long it's been here.

"Maybe it's been switched off?" Rose says. The Doctor shrugs and walks closer to it. The cyberman doesn't move. The Doctor taps the head and a hollow echo rings out through the room.

"It's empty. There's no brain inside, it's just a shell" The Doctor mutters.

"You might wanna check for trip switches... just in case" I say. The Doctor smiles at me before checking the whole of the small container.

"Nope, no trip switches" he announces and we all breath a collective sigh of relief. Now that we knew it was safe, we all returned to the plans that were on the table. I study it. There's a detailed sketch of Buckingham Palace in the middle with all the rooms accurately labelled and surrounding it are the same words that Jack received in the signals. Finally, there is a rough sketch of what looks like a cross between a dandelion that has died and turned into the white bobble that little kids love to blow the seeds off of and a tadpole.

"Doctor, what's this? It looks like an isolus child but it's different" I say. The Doctor frowns.

"I don't know. As you say, it's very similar to an isolus child but the tails are joined at the end and the top isn't the right kind of flower shape"

I run my hand through my hair. My head is hurting with all these disconnected facts. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, an idea hits me like a wrecking ball.

"Ok, so what if this... thing, is similar to an isolus child but not the same. This plan has obviously got something to do with the Royal family, the words could mean whoever drew this plan wants to somehow use mind control on the Queen to take over the country... maybe this is a sort of creature that invades the mind like and isolus child but where the isolus look for a companion, maybe this creature allows the mind to be controlled" I rush, panting by the end. The Doctor is smiling at me while the others are looking at me like I'm mental.

"You, Sophie, are going to give me a run for my money, coming up with ideas like this" The Doctor says and I don't know whether to smile or frown.

"Ok, let's go with your theory for now. So whoever drew this plan can control this creature" he says.

"We assume. It's like the Cybermen, the people that have those ear pods in can be controlled by voice... Of Course!" I yell, smacking my forehead and making the Doctor jump.

"What?" everyone asks me.

"Why on earth would there be an empty Cyberman locked up in an abandoned warehouse in London? Unless someone was studying it!" I say.

"So you think that whoever drew this plan was studying the way the ear pods used by Cybermen to convert humans so her could use the same technology on that creature to take over the mind of the Queen and rule the country?" the Doctor asks. I nod but for some reason he doesn't look convinced. Suddenly, Rose calls us over to a work bench. She's holding out a tin box.

"Oh" the Doctor says. He gently takes the box from Rose and shows it to me. Inside is the creature, lying limply against the side of the box.

"Is it alive?" I whisper. The Doctor gently strokes it and the creature stirs before laying still again.

"Just about. I think you were right Sophie, I think whoever drew that plan has been torturing this poor creature to get it to adapt to the mind control that the Cybermen use" the Doctor mutters before placing the box back on the bench. Suddenly, a voice from the doorway speaks, startling us all.

"Well, I don't think I've ever met someone as smart as you two. But smart people can be very dangerous at times, so I think I'll have to put an end to it"

We all spin round just as a man with short dark hair and dressed all in black presses a button. A large electric tube surrounds me and the Doctor, cutting the others off. We watch helplessly as the others are all roughly bound with rope and dragged to the other side of the room. Suddenly, the tube is gone and the Doctor is dragged away from me. The tube returns and I am stuck.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"DOCTOR!" I yell but it's no use. Whatever surrounds me must block out sound because the Doctor doesn't look at me. I can't even try kicking my way out because I'll risk getting electrocuted. The others are secretly trying to undo the ropes that bind them together but they are not having much luck. I can't hear a word that is being said. I can only imagine and the scared looks from the others aren't helping me to think positive. Only when I see the Doctor get knocked onto the floor and not get back up is when I break down crying. I huddle up on the floor and silently beg the Doctor to wake.

Suddenly, I am being dragged to my feet. The electric tube is gone and I am roughly pushed to the floor next to an unconscious Doctor. I shake his shoulders but he doesn't wake.

"Get up" the man snarls at me. I shakily get to my feet, being careful to hide the sonic screwdriver that I managed to get from the Doctor's pocket.

"Anything you'd like to ask me?" the man says. This takes me back. Of all the things I was expecting to hear, that was not one of them, which makes me even more wary of the stranger before me.

"Um, why exactly do you want to control the country using the Queen?" I ask.

"Isn't it obvious?" he says, appalled. I shake my head.

"If the Queen says something should be done, the country will do it. They won't do it if a stranger forces her off the throne."

"But surely you would have to get near the Queen to get that creature near her?"

"No, the creature can fly. I control it with my voice"

"Well have you looked at it recently? The poor thing was lying in that box with no sign of life in it at all" I say, now angry that someone has hurt a defenceless creature.

"It's merely resting. I gave it some of my DNA so that it would recognise me as its master. That creature can register DNA with a single touch and will immediately control their mind. So I reversed the process so that a single touch from a human would control its mind. Whatever I tell it, that creature will do. That's why it's in the box. So no one else will touch it"

I think my eyes widen. Oh no.

"Ok, I think that concludes this Q + A session thank you" I say. The man turns away.

"Wait! I just have one more question! Can you let my friends go please?"

"No"

I frown and he turns away again, giving me enough time to slide the sonic screwdriver across to Rose who smiles at me and conceals it under her leg. I then take the spare Tardis key out of my pocket and signal to the others that I won't leave them behind and that they should cut the ropes. I stand right next to the Doctor and hold the key tight in my hand, repeating the mantra _come to me_ over and over.

"What the-"the man stutters as the Tardis slowly surrounds me, the whooshing noise drowning out the sound of the sonic screwdriver. I open my eyes and I'm in the Tardis, the Doctor still out next to me although slightly more alert than he was a few minutes ago. I shake him awake and he suddenly leaps up.

"Sophie, wait... where are the others?" he says, looking around madly.

"We're still in the warehouse. The others are outside although I managed to get the sonic screwdriver to Rose so she could cut the ropes. Look, he didn't tell me why but that man is going to use that creature to control the mind of the queen and the country"

"Yeah, we know that" the Doctor mutters.

"But, he told me that the creature can register DNA with a single touch and will immediately control their mind. So he reversed the process so that a single touch from a human would control its mind. Whatever he tells it, that creature will do. But, you touched it Doctor, so maybe it listens to you now" I say. The Doctor shakes his head sadly.

"I'm not human Sophie. I'm a Timelord, an alien species. That creature will listen to him and only him"

I hang my head in defeat when we hear shouting coming from outside. We both rush out and Rose, Jack and Jade are free but there is no sign of the stranger.

"We... we tried to take him... but he ran before we could" Rose pants. Suddenly, Jade laughs and we all turn to see the creature flying around her head.

"Jade, how did you get that?" Jack asks.

"Oh please, dad, I've been wearing your teleporter this entire time and you never noticed!" Jade giggles as the creature floats next to her. "This little guy listens to me now and I want to set it free" Jade says. I smile at her and then turn to the Doctor.

"Can we?" I say. The Doctor nods.

"Of course. Now that we've got it, we don't need to worry about that man, whoever he was"

We all go back to the Tardis and the Doctor wastes no time in finding out about the strange little creature.

"It's called solitarios cognoscente which is basically Latin for lonely knower. It comes from the planet Aridius which was a planet that used to be covered in oceans but is now a desert. Last I heard of Aridius, the remaining inhabitants were just amphibians and octopuses but never mind. It's this little guy's home and we'll get him there"

I set the course and we reach the planet in no time. Jade sets the solitarios cognoscente free and we watch as it floats about before joining a group of a few others which then fly off into the sky. Suddenly, we are travelling through the time vortex again and me and Rose struggle to shut the doors.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Back at Torchwood, I prepare to say my goodbyes.

"It's been so great you again Jade" I say as I hug her.

"Couldn't I come with you?" she mumbles. I sigh. I knew it.

"I wish you could but your life is here now, with Jack, helping defend the Earth and helping your dad" I say, smiling at her. The Doctor comes up behind me, takes Jade's wrist and points the sonic screwdriver at it. He clicks the button and the light on it goes out.

"What did you do?!" Jade asks, her voice high.

"Just disabled it for a few hours so you can't follow us. Sophie's right Jade, you need to stay here were you belong and I'm sure Jack will agree with me?" The Doctor asks, raising an eyebrow. Jack laughs and shakes his head.

"Um, yeah, I'm gonna need some help with the engineering around here" he says. Jade sighs and gives me one last hug.

"But I promise we'll come and visit, yeah?" I say, looking at the Doctor.

"Of course" he says, flashing us both a grin. Jade smiles and me, Rose and the Doctor turn and head back inside the Tardis. I climb up onto my shelf and lay down, my leg hanging off the side.

"Ugh, I'm so tired. Anyway, where we going this time?" Rose says as she plonks down onto the double seat, making me giggle.

"Ummm, how about an underwater world full of fish with cat faces?" I say, my giggles turning into laughter at the Doctor's bemused/exasperated expression. Rose giggles.

"Or a land where each blade of grass is a different colour and the bumblebee's sing to you?" Rose says, making me laugh more. The Doctor smiles at us and starts to put the Tardis into flight.

"Or a place where everything is upside down and all the animals fly" I say, unable to contain my laughter. The Doctor shakes his head in amusement and suddenly, we're thrown sideways as the Tardis hits turbulence and flies towards another place, another adventure.


End file.
